105 The Reckless Moment

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whaleallright
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Re: 105 The Reckless Moment

#26 Post by whaleallright » Fri Feb 15, 2019 8:01 pm

Or at least a reversible slëëve.

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reaky
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Re: 105 The Reckless Moment

#27 Post by reaky » Sat Feb 16, 2019 6:13 am

It has always bothered me that Motörhead put the umlaut on the wrong O. I think of them as Meutorhead.

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MichaelB
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Re: 105 The Reckless Moment

#28 Post by MichaelB » Wed Mar 13, 2019 7:24 am

Final specs:

Image

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NABOB OF NOWHERE
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Re: 105 The Reckless Moment

#29 Post by NABOB OF NOWHERE » Wed Mar 13, 2019 9:58 am

Brilliant!

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MichaelB
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Re: 105 The Reckless Moment

#30 Post by MichaelB » Sat Mar 30, 2019 5:41 pm


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MichaelB
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Re: 105 The Reckless Moment

#31 Post by MichaelB » Sun Apr 07, 2019 12:22 pm


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Lowry_Sam
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Re: 105 The Reckless Moment

#32 Post by Lowry_Sam » Sun Apr 07, 2019 1:49 pm

I’d been fantasizing about a The Complete Max Ophuls In Hollywood box set that included a copy of Max Ophuls In The Hollywood Studios ever since I read the book a decade or so (came across it by chance at a local college library). Definitely one of my favorite books on film, so it’s nice to see the Bacher doc on this in lieu of a comprehensive release.

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whaleallright
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Re: 105 The Reckless Moment

#33 Post by whaleallright » Mon Apr 08, 2019 10:57 am

Yes, that's a great book, and I wish more scholars undertook similar analyses of the films of other major studio directors, like Sirk.

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MichaelB
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Re: 105 The Reckless Moment

#34 Post by MichaelB » Mon Apr 08, 2019 11:03 am

It's extensively namechecked in the Birkbeck extras - I think Adrian Garvey is the one who singles it out as the most exhaustive book imaginable on Ophuls' career at this point.

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dustybooks
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Re: 105 The Reckless Moment

#35 Post by dustybooks » Sat Apr 13, 2019 10:54 am

My copy arrived yesterday. Superb package and extras (and presentation I’m sure, though I only had the music and effects track on in the background last night and haven’t sat and watched the movie yet) for this film that’s been oddly elusive on disc. I particularly appreciated the Samm Deighan essay and the Todd Haynes monologue (which I guess was on a previous DVD edition but was new to me) but everything was interesting, and it was nice to get so much material dedicated to James Mason.

Regarding the movie, I was intrigued to learn how deliberately Ophuls and Walter Wanger pulled away from having Joan Bennett give any suggestion of emotional attachment to Mason, which for me only adds to how off-kilter and unstable he seems from the beginning and certainly when his attitude toward her changes. While I like Haynes’ interpretation of Mason as a symbol of the larger world (like Hannay is for Peggy Ashcroft when he visits the farmhouse in The 39 Steps) outside Bennett’s sequestered Mom-on-the-run lifestyle, I actually agree with an audience member in the Q&A extra that the finale comes off more as a relief than as a resignation... even if the clearly evolved and inexplicable relationship she develops with Mason is more complex than hero/villain, he’s still a worryingly intense and unpredictable wildcard, and I think her seeing some good in him despite that is more interesting in a way than for him to be viewed as a “blackmailer with a heart of gold” and for her to develop a serious attachment. Obviously the critique of traditional gender roles and the American nuclear family is still very much present but I think it’s more nuanced than just an attack on the lead character’s core values. Perhaps in the end I saw this less as melodrama and more as noir than others; when I watch it in full again I may feel differently.

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DarkImbecile
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Re: 105 The Reckless Moment

#36 Post by DarkImbecile » Sat Apr 13, 2019 6:49 pm

My Indicator bundle including The Reckless Moment also arrived earlier this week, and while I was most eager to watch Dehlavi's Immaculate Conception, I needed something shorter in the first window I had available to watch anything and so threw this in last night. I'd never seen it, and was thrilled to find that it struck just the right balance between noir, melodrama, and social commentary; Bennett is fantastic, and Mason somehow makes an otherwise thin role into something meaningful and affecting. Ophuls' typically dynamic camera and beautiful use of the full depth of the frame is such a treat, and the largely un-articulated chemistry between the leads combines with the oppressive household dynamic around Bennett to build a significance into dramatic moments that otherwise might have felt more overwrought.

Managed to catch up with the supplements this morning, and agree 100% with dustybooks that they're great, with the Haynes feature and the in-depth pieces on Mason particularly appreciated. A great discovery for me, and I'm thrilled to have it in such a thoughtful package.

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domino harvey
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Re: 105 The Reckless Moment

#37 Post by domino harvey » Sat Apr 13, 2019 7:33 pm

And if anyone liked this and Suture, you might want to check out the Deep End, the remake of this starring Tilda Swinton and directed by Scott McGehee and David Siegel

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MichaelB
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Re: 105 The Reckless Moment

#38 Post by MichaelB » Mon Apr 15, 2019 9:21 am


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MichaelB
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Re: 105 The Reckless Moment

#39 Post by MichaelB » Wed May 01, 2019 3:27 am


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MichaelB
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Re: 105 The Reckless Moment

#40 Post by MichaelB » Wed May 01, 2019 1:40 pm


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filmyfan
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Re: 105 The Reckless Moment

#41 Post by filmyfan » Sun Jul 07, 2019 8:49 am

Lowry_Sam wrote:
Sun Apr 07, 2019 1:49 pm
I’d been fantasizing about a The Complete Max Ophuls In Hollywood box set that included a copy of Max Ophuls In The Hollywood Studios ever since I read the book a decade or so (came across it by chance at a local college library). Definitely one of my favorite books on film, so it’s nice to see the Bacher doc on this in lieu of a comprehensive release.
I have the book-but yet to read it!

I love The Reckless Moment package-Bacher's doc is very interesting.

The only thing missing is an Adrian Martin commentary - can I dream he can do one for "Letter from.." if its released in the UK ?

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MichaelB
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Re: 105 The Reckless Moment

#42 Post by MichaelB » Sun Jul 07, 2019 2:02 pm

Cinema Scope (Jonathan Rosenbaum).
[Lutz Bacher's] presentation about the shooting of The Reckless Moment (1949) on Powerhouse’s B-region Blu-ray of that film is simply jaw-dropping—possibly the most complete and nuanced account of the production of a Hollywood feature that I’ve encountered anywhere.

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